Freshman 10: Rookie Ranking

If you
didn’t read
the first Freshmen 10, it’s understandable, my mom didn’t even read it. It
was basically a preseason ranking of the top 10 freshmen with a very tiny
influence coming from the few games that had been played so far. But now that
most teams have gotten some games in, the list can start taking form.

As always,
the rankings are cumulative, so these are the 10 best freshmen in the country
this year. If you have any problems with these guys or feel someone got left
off,
e-mail me and I will notify the player you are bashing and tell him where to
contact you.

1. Kevin
Durant, Texas - Orginally, it looked like Durant would just be keeping this
spot warm until Oden got back to full strength. Doesn’t seem like he’s ready to
budge quite yet. I agree with
Andy Katz that he eventually needs to play inside more instead of settling
for jumpers, but while he’s in college, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for him
to bang in the post. Generally the other team’s center is guarding him and he
can catch the ball on the perimeter and get any shot he wants with his
quickness. The matchup next week with LSU and Big Baby Davis should be
interesting. I bet Durant gets the better of him (although LSU will win).

Freshman
perk - His friends
are pushing really hard to get a house off-campus next year, no matter
what off-campus NBA city it’s in.

2. Chase
Budinger, Arizona - I wasn’t that sold on Budinger before, because I didn’t
think he excelled at any one thing. But after watching him against Illinois and
especially against Louisville, I realized there really isn’t anything he doesn’t
do well. He’s the best passer (better than Shakur), the best shooter (better
than Radenovic) and probably the best athlete (better than the hugely
disappointing Marcus Williams) on that Arizona team. Although I watched the
Louisville game with the sound off (I tend to do that when I sense Dickie V at
the beginning of the broadcast), I’m sure my assessment that he was
scintillating was confirmed.

Freshman
perk- While in New
York this week, he and David Lee of the Knicks had a hotly contested audition
for the lead role in White Men Can’t Jump 2.

3. Greg
Oden, Ohio State - He would’ve been knocked off the list if he didn’t come
back from injury because this is supposed to be based on each player’s
performance this year but that one game was good enough for third. It hurts to
put an enormous man who might be the next great big man in the NBA behind a
kid who looks like Napoleon Dynamite, but Oden still isn’t full strength. In
just 23 minutes, Oden went to the foul line 15 times. Granted it was against
Valpo but there are some teams in the Big Ten that aren’t much better than Valpo.
He’s going to absolutely dominate when league play starts.

Stats-
14 ppg, 10 rpg, 5 bpg,
3 TO, 75 FG%, 8-15 FTs

Freshman
perk- They already
have his table set up in the Madison Square Garden green room.

4.
Javaris Crittenton, Georgia Tech - He doesn’t have the better stats than
some of the players below him on this list, but he could be the most talented
freshman in the ACC this year. He didn’t play well against Memphis and UCLA but
I’m more impressed with the guards on those teams than I’ve been with any guards
in the ACC. It scares me what he’ll do to Greg Paulus, I’d have a leg brace
ready if I were the Duke bench.

Freshman
perk- The comparisons
to Stephon Marbury are so profound, Isiah Thomas offered Paul Hewitt four
1st- round picks just out of habit.

5.
Darrell Arthur, Kansas - Despite playing only 16 minutes against Florida he
was the player of the game with 19 points and more aggressive play than anyone
else on the court. I didn’t really know anything about him before that game but
that’s arguably the best performance by a freshman in a big game this season.
Since then he’s struggled a bit but Bill Self has to get him off the bench, he’s
only averaging 21 minutes per game. I always thought you want to play your
leading scorer as much as possible but then again, I’m not a coach.

Freshman
perk- His roommates
switched his toothpaste to Crest so he wouldn’t be reminded of the Jayhawks
embarrassing loss to Oral Roberts earlier this season.

6.
Tajuan Porter, Oregon - He’s slowed down some after starting the season on a
Boykins-esque tear but the numbers say he’s got to be on the list. Despite a
poor night, the Ducks were able to win at Georgetown so, unlike some of the
players on this list, he’s not the go-to guy necessarily for his team. The
assist to turnover ratio is terrible for someone who is supposed to be a point
guard, but he’s still
changing Oregon basketball.

Freshman perk-
Unlike high school, there are no lockers to get stuffed into.

7.
Brandan Wright, North Carolina - Another guy who is playing well in big
games, most notably 21 and 13 against Gonzaga and 19 and 8 against Tennessee.
He’s definitely benefiting from the crazy attention teams are giving Tyler
Hansbrough but being able to capitalize on those opportunities is going to make
Carolina tough to beat this year. He’s
more athletic than Hansbrough and could have a bigger impact on the
defensive end in ACC play.

Freshman
perk- When he goes to
parties with Tyler Hansbrough he gets a lot of touches when Hansbrough is
double-teamed by the ladies.

8.
Daequan Cook, Ohio State - Not a lot of people know about Cook because of
Oden and fellow freshman Mike Conley but he might be the Buckeyes best player so
far this year. He’s shown an ability to go inside and outside which will provide
Thad Matta some flexibility as Oden gets more involved.

Freshman
perk- He was given
Lawrence North High School hoodies and sweatpants so people would start noticing
him.

9. Paul
Harris, Syracuse - He was in danger of dropping off the list until the last
seven minutes of the game against Oklahoma State. Harris not only showed his
explosiveness, but showed he can be a guy who wins games for the Orange.
Once he finds his jumper and some consistency on a very inconsistent Syracuse
squad, he’ll be the odds-on favorite for Big East Freshman of the Year.

Freshman
perk- Unlike another
Syracuse freshman phenom, he won’t have to worry about being called overrated in
his senior year.

10. Ryan
Anderson, California - Since he plays in the Pac-10 I feel like it’s okay to
not know anything about him, and I don’t. He hasn’t been below 13 points or five
rebounds all year and did a decent job in a match-up with Nick Fazekas, even
though the Bears lost. Like Porter, it seems improbable that a guy who wasn’t a
big-name recruit will continue this success, but for now I bet Cal is pretty
pleased.

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About Jason Tomassini

ColumnistFreshman 10, Commentary

Contactjtom21@gmail.com

Background

Jason Tomassini recently graduated from the University of Delaware where he was the managing sports editor at Delaware’s student-run newspaper The Review. He is also a freelance sports journalist with frequent contributions to the Wilmington News Journal in Wilmington, Del. His favorite team is Syracuse and his most hated teams are Duke, Pittsburgh and whoever Dick Vitale decides to yell about. While he has a degree in English/Journalism and a minor is business administration, he does not recommend getting either for yourself.